Today we’d like to introduce you to Anneka Smith.
Hi Anneka, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My love for fitness started as a young Dancer and Gymnast, where I would spend all year training for competitions and attending summer camps to develop my skills. Gymnastics was the love of my life and at the time, I thought I would become an Olympic Medalist. I never thought it would lead to becoming a Wellness and Fitness Coach, inspiring, healing and helping others live a Fit & Healthy Lifestyle!
I relocated to Jacksonville from my hometown Panama City, FL. in 2001, to study Business Management at UNF; where I first started developing business ideas.
In the meantime, Diabetes, Cancer, and Heart disease, began to impact multiple families around me, including my own.
Fast-forwarding past graduating and becoming a homeowner, my Pastor at the time, asked me to become the Director of the Wellness Ministry. That sparked the development of my fitness business, Body Wellness & Fitness! I spent 4 years in a ministry that allowed me to share my love for fitness by coordinating Group Fitness Events, while helping others understand nutrition & health, by hosting health fairs with the Department of Health.
Since then, I’ve coordinated numerous fitness events, and trained at multiple gyms and health facilities including Nursing Homes and Annual Summer Camps and Fitness Tours!
Our goal is to help change your life, for the rest of your life, through Wellness & Fitness!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a HILL! The ups and downs of being an entrepreneur! In the second year as Wellness Director, I officially became certified and immediately became a Mobile Trainer. Traveling to multiple locations around the city, in one day, was my only challenge at that time.
I was proud to have built a referral-based business without depending on social media. Which, inspired me, to open my own location.
When I became an Owner-operator of my first fitness studio, in the middle of a pandemic; things got real!
When the pandemic hit, things were already in motion to open the studio and pulling out would have cost all that I had invested; so I pressed forward!
We are going on year number 2 and still going strong! It has not been easy, but it has been worth it.
This time has amplified the importance of planning & pivoting as needed, and the need to remain flexible to adjust to the market you’re operating in!
I’ve enjoyed every bit of the journey. The good and the bad; it all is part of my story and has made me a stronger woman and entrepreneur!
As you know, we’re big fans of Body Wellness & Fitness. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Body Wellness and Fitness specialize in implementing the most holistic Wellness & Fitness practices into everyday life! An experience that you want to share and teach others. We do not focus on the strength and appearance of Fitness, alone; but we also focus on the individual personal needs of each client. All of our needs are different, and we customize programs around each client’s life and their goals.
Clients train with BWF for years, because we have the skills and tools to help each client adapt and adjust their Wellness & Fitness around life’s unpredictable curve balls; the good and bad.
We prepare our clients for life; a promotion; a wedding; vacation; holidays; loss of a loved one. We offer more than training, we offer a happy and healthy lifestyle!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
One of my favorite books right now is “Believe Bigger” by Marshawn Evans Daniels. It is a serious page-turner, and it’s so eloquently written, as if you’re having a conversation with her.
What is most impactful about the book is her way of pulling out your true feelings about yourself; very pure, self-reflecting “Man in the Mirror” moments!
Books like these inspire me to continue to lead by example and focus on living a life of excellence!
Pricing:
- Membership Starts at $45/ Month
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bodywellness.fitness
- Instagram: @Bodywellness.fitness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bodywellness.fitness/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC421uLDmQafZBdyVUmArOFw
Image Credits
Personal Photo by April Jordan A. Estelle Photography
